Many types of electronic video poker gaming machines have been developed that are used in the casino gaming industry. Some of these video poker games are stud poker games and some are draw poker games. Each of these types of electronic video poker gaming machines is designed to replicate the play of a hand of poker. The player attempts to achieve the highest ranking poker hand possible from the cards displayed to the player. Most video poker machines use conventional poker hand rankings which ranging highest to lowest are: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and Highest Card.
In conventional video poker, the player is not playing against other players' hands as in a live cardroom poker game or against a dealer's hand as in Twenty-One or CARIBBEAN STUD.RTM. poker which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,553. The player only plays the cards of his hand against a pay table. The higher the poker hand ranking achieved by the player; the greater the player's winnings based on the number of coins, tokens or credits wagered by the player.
The first electronic video poker gaming machine was a standard draw poker game that dealt cards from a standard 52 card poker deck and displayed a single five card hand to the player. This was a conventional "player's hand only" game since the player did not play against a dealer's hand, but was only trying to achieve the highest poker hand ranking he could for his five card hand. The cards were electronically shuffled and an initial deal of five cards was displayed to the player. The player then selected which of the five cards he wanted to hold. The non-selected cards are removed and replacement cards are displayed for the cards the player has discarded. The player wins or loses based on conventional poker hand rankings for the resulting five card hand.
The winning or losing poker hands are determined by comparing the poker hand ranking of the player's final five card hand to a pay table. The pay table shows the various winning hand combinations, generally ranging from a Pair of Jacks or Better up to a Royal Flush. The pay table also shows winning payout amounts based on the number of coins, tokens or credits wagered by the player (credits can be wagered by the player if the gaming machine has a credit meter that accrues credits earned by the player during the play of the game).
Table 1 shows a typical pay table that is often used in electronic video draw poker machines of the "player's hand only" type.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ NUMBER OF COINS PLAYED TYPE OF HAND 1 2 3 4 5 ______________________________________ ROYAL FLUSH 250 500 750 1000 4000 STRAIGHT FLUSH 50 100 150 200 250 FOUR OF A KIND 25 50 75 100 125 FULL HOUSE 9 18 27 36 45 FLUSH 6 12 18 24 30 STRAIGHT 4 8 12 16 20 THREE OF A KIND 3 6 9 12 15 TWO PAIR 2 4 6 8 10 JACKS OR BETTER 1 2 3 4 5 ______________________________________
The classic video draw poker machine has been modified to use Deuces (or even other cards) as wild cards. Also, one or more Jokers may be added to the standard fifty-two card deck and the Jokers are also used as wild cards. "Deuces Wild" and "Jokers Wild" draw poker still display to the player a single five card hand and allow the player to discard unwanted cards and receive replacement cards. The pay table is modified to recognize the differing odds for achieving various poker hands when wild cards are involved. When wild cards are used, other winning poker hand rankings can be used such as Five of a Kind or Wild Royal Flushes.
Other types of "player's hand only" poker games have been adapted to run on electronic video gaming machines. In the electronic version of "player's hand only" seven card stud poker, the player wagers one or more coins, tokens or credits to be eligible to play the game and the player is initially dealt three cards. The player then has the option of folding in which case he loses his initial wager or betting additional coins, tokens or credits to receive additional cards. Eventually the player has either folded or received a full seven card hand. The player wins or loses based on conventional poker hand rankings for the best five cards of his seven card hand. A pay table is established based on the number of coins, tokens or credits wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved.
In the electronic version of "player's hand only" five card stud poker, the player wagers one or more coins, tokens or credits to be eligible to play the game and the player is initially dealt four cards. The player then has the option of betting additional coins, tokens or credits to increase the amount of a winning payout when he receives the fifth card. After the fifth card is dealt to the player, the value of his five card hand is determined based on conventional poker hand rankings. A pay table is established based on the number of coins, tokens or credits wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved. An example of this type of five card stud video poker is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,413.
There is a family of games known as "Spit-in-the-Ocean" games which are variations of conventional cardroom poker games. A plurality of players vie for a common pot which is increased by the initial antes and subsequent wagers of the players. In these games each player is dealt one or more cards and the rest of the player's hand comes from community cards available to all players. The player's individual cards are combined with the community cards and the player with the highest ranking poker hand wins the common pot.
Perhaps the most popular community card game is Texas Hold-Em because of the large number of players who can play at one time and the fast action and large pots that are generated. The game is fast because only two cards are dealt to each player, with the remaining cards being dealt to a "flop" which forms the community cards from which each player makes up the rest of his hand. The winning hand belongs to that player whose two cards best fit with the community cards and form the highest ranking poker hand.
A recent development in electronic video poker games is the multiple hand games. A game known as "Double Poker" is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,140. In this game, two initial five card hands are displayed to the player from two separate decks of cards. The player makes a single wager and then selects one of the two initial five card hands to play. After the player has selected which hand he wishes to play, that hand is played out in a conventional manner by discarding and drawing replacement cards and paying the player based on the poker hand ranking of the final five card hand.
Another game known as "Pick One Poker" is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,915. In this game, four separate five card hands are displayed to the player with all of the four hands being dealt from a single deck of cards. The player makes a single wager and then selects one of the four initial five card hands to play. The other three non-selected hands are reshuffled back with the remaining cards from the single deck of cards. After the player has selected which hand he wishes to play, that hand is played out in a conventional manner by discarding and drawing replacement cards and paying the player based on the poker hand ranking of the final five card hand.
Another type of multiple hand video poker is a game known as "Triple Play" poker which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,873. The player makes a separate wager for each hand the player wishes to play. A first five card hand is dealt and displayed face up to the player. The player selects none, one or more of the face up cards from the first hand as cards to be held. The cards that are held are duplicated from the first hand into all of the other hands. Replacement cards for the non-selected cards are dealt into the first hand so that the first hand has five cards. Additional cards are also dealt to all of the other hands so that each hand is a five card hand. The poker hand ranking of each five card hand is determined. The player is then paid for any winning poker hands based on a pay table and the amount of the player's wager on each hand.
The drawback of a game such as "Triple Play" poker is that the player must make separate wagers for each hand that the player wishes to play. It would be more beneficial to the player to be able to play multiple hands of cards for a single wager.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic video poker game in which the player makes a single wager and can play multiple hands so that the player has multiple opportunities to achieve a winning poker hand combination.
It is a feature of the present invention that two community cards are combined with two or more, and preferably five, partial hands of three cards each. The player can discard none, one or both of the community cards, receive replacement cards for the discarded community cards, increase his wager and then complete five poker hands. The player has the opportunity to achieve up to five or more winning poker hand combinations for a single wager.
It is another feature of the present invention to use a modified deck of playing cards that is increased to sixty-five cards by the addition of a fifth suit. The fifth suit allows the use of additional winning card combinations such as Five-of-a-Kind without the need to include wild cards in the deck.
It is an advantage of the present invention that the player can enjoy the opportunity to play five or more separate poker hands while only having to make a single wager. The method of play of the present invention is fast-paced and provides the possibility of large payouts to the player and can also include a bonus multiplier feature that allows the player, on a random basis, to receive even higher payouts.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.